PADRES’ NEW OWNERS DEFINITELY ON HOT SEAT

The Padres embraced a fresh ownership group last August, and this one came, seemingly, minus holes in their considerable pockets.

Former head honchos John Moores and Jeff Moorad skedaddled, which gave patient Padres fans a rare smile. The cheapness which characterized their tenures was history, with the “S” and “D” on Padres caps no longer representing sad and dismal.

The Padres’ uniforms kept a blue hue, but that didn’t reflect the dreams of eager Padres patrons. They speculated it was goodbye puny payrolls and hello competitive rosters.

All because former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley’s kids, Kevin and Brian, were on board.

Plus Peter and Tom Seidler, the elder O’Malley’s nephews, were all in.

And Ron Fowler, San Diego’s king of beer sales, was ready to toast a new beginning.

But with Monday’s opener on tap, why is the Padres’ buzz so flat?

Where’s the sizzle? Where’s the anticipation? Where’s that can’t-wait sensation every Padres booster should possess for Opening Day against the Mets, as the calendar reaches April 1?

Or have Padres fans been played, again, for fools?

Before reaching the Big Apple, did the Padres deliver another big bait-and-switch?

Or are the new owners taking a pragmatic approach to rebuilding a brand which shows one winning season since 2008?

A little of both, and let us explain why.

General Manager Josh Byrnes had the green light to improve the Padres this offseason. He kicked the tires on a few models, and when popping open the players’ hoods, the Padres’ owners didn’t balk.

“They were always very receptive,” Byrnes said.

But sticker shock eventually struck the Padres. When price exceeded the team’s assigned value, the Padres settled on the curb and watched the free-agency parade glide by.

“Josh was calling agents; he was setting parameters on deals,” manager Bud Black stressed. “We were in on a couple of guys and ownership was OK with the numbers Josh was talking about.

“It takes two sides to get a deal done, but it wasn’t from any lack of commitment from ownership.”

That’s swell and doesn’t mean squat. Talk is cheap, and so were the Padres.

Not so, said Fowler.

“Josh was authorized to make the moves he wanted to make,” he said. “We have a budget, but we said if he found a difference-maker to go after it. But we weren’t going to do something just to do something.”

So passing on pitchers Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson were prudent moves?

“They signed elsewhere for a lot more money than what we offered, but I thought we were fair,” Black said. “We’ll look back and maybe the clubs overpaid for these players and it was a good thing we didn’t get them.”

But that’s nails on the chalkboard to Padres customers. They’re tired of finishing second-best after finishing 2012 second-to-last. They’re weary of top players fleeing, while eying a shallow payroll of around $70 million, again among the MLB bottom-feeders.

The Padres’ brass is under a microscope, and so far, the beaker boys aren’t showing much. They’ve done little to placate a legion of Padres backers expecting a sea change for their squad hard off San Diego Bay.

Fowler counters their offseason work was done last season. That extended pacts for outfielder Carlos Quentin, closer Huston Street and pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay, is money spent, no matter the financial quarter it hits the books.

OK, but sell it elsewhere. Peddle it to a fan base tasting success more than five times in a 14-season cycle. Or to a following promised once Petco Park arrived, the revenue streams would be so splashy marquee names would enter the Tony Gwynn Drive door, instead of exiting it.

My bad, as the Padres did re-sign Jason Marquis. But a journeyman starter isn’t quite what Padres fans envisioned.

“I understand what people are saying,” Fowler said. “I just don’t think they understand how we look at things.”

The Padres’ inactivity was emphasized with the Dodgers burning through wheelbarrows of cash, the Diamondbacks trading with everyone, and the Giants boasting of two out of three World Series titles.

The Rockies didn’t do much, and for that, the NL West basement is theirs.

But excuse Padres honks for thinking their elevator was escalating. Maybe it is, or will in the future when touted young ’uns mature.

Still, the Padres appeared challenged to produce a .500 season. At the minimum, the owners failed their offseason exam of creating excitement to combat that assumption.

“Some publications are picking us as a sleeper team,” Fowler countered.

Although the real litmus test is third baseman Chase Headley and the owners’ willingness to reach a long-term deal. The man with a broken thumb will break the bank, and when was the last time — save pitcher Jake Peavy, before being traded — did the Padres do that?

So listen for the squawking after another quiet Padres offseason. Whatever honeymoon the new bosses enjoyed is kaput, with skeptical fans wanting more bang from the owners’ bucks.

“I hear the criticism,” Fowler said. “It comes with the territory.”

Ditto the Padres shopping at the 99 cents store.

“People should give us 18-24 months,” Fowler said. “Then take a look at what we’re doing, what we’ve done, and see if they feel that way.”

Yet another promise to Padres fans, and wouldn’t it be nice if one actually rang true?